Any Brides whose HTB is 'Ang Mo'?

[maplehue]

Hello everyone,
I am new here. Been reading you gals a bit and you guys made me smile. Ha. I am currently in Seoul. Been here since July 2006. Lately been feeling a little "lonely". ALL friends including hubby's colleagues are foreigners so it's nice to read whats here. We moved to Seoul just one day after we got married in Sg! Loving my married life a lot but miss being in singapore where family and friends are and miss roti prata too with fish curry! This july will be our 2nd wedding anniversary. Will move to Hong Kong middle of this year but will swing by sg first to visit. ALSO want to start the process of getting the hubby Singapore PR. I heard it is a hassle now esp. when we are not living in sg. In between, congratulations Cuclainne.

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Pris long time no see.

Ha! Ha! No competition lah! For me about time we start family since we've been married for two and half years. I've not gone back to Sg yet will be going soon in a few weeks time. Hopefully by then I would have recovered from my aversion to asian cooking. Perhaps it won't be so bad as the only food I can't really eat is my own at the moment.

Well good luck with the interviews and your tuition.

Deluxe I think eng schools will hire anybody who has a good command of English not necessary those from uk and usa.

Do you know eeling? She lives in Italy and teaches in an eng school. Has your furniture arrived yet? Read Margie's blog on multiply looks like you all had a great CNY celebration in her place.

Hello maplehue welcome. Where is your hubby from? About the Singapore PR seems that different people have different experiences. Some find it a hassle and others find it a breeze.

Recently I had a friend who applied for PR for both her husband and daughter through the High Comm in London and it was approved within a few months. She was really surprised as her hubby's semi-retired (I think). They went back to Singapore last month to finalise the process i.e. medical check ups etc. So hopefully yours will be a breeze too.

 

[maplehue]

Hi Mrs N, my hubby is a canadian but we are currently living in seoul. will move to hong kong middle of this year but we want to start with his pr application this summer in sg. I am just not sure whether sg immigration will accept his application cos we won't be living in sg. I wonder whether there is sg high comm in hk. i dread paperwork and all.

How is the weather there in Britain? Seoul is still cold. The last i was in London was 4 years ago. Loved the theatre and shopping at Harrods but I guess being a resident there, you must be 'jelak' already right

Hello Deluxe..i lived in melbourne for 4 years. I enjoyed it a lot and i hope you will to.my first place was in caulfield, then i moved to glenhuntly. I even used to watch the footy games and became a collingwood supporter. don't forget that umbrella when you are out yeah

 

[margiel]

Morning Ladies or Evening to some

I will be gg back to SG this Sun for about a month, settling the venue and gown stuff if possible and removing wisdom and extra tooth

Well, of cos not forgetting makan attack b4 i could hardly open my jaw hehehe.... Hopefully will be able to catch up with Chris and Nisa
Hey Mrs N, have u been eating more and putting on weight? When are you gg back to Sg? See if we can cross path along the way

Hello Maplehue, welcome to this thread

Seems like u and hubby are on the move every few years

WIsh u good luck in ur hubby's PR application as well as smooth transition to HK.

 

[georginat]

hi ladies !!

pris, thanks nice to have Mrs.N joining me..hope more will 'join' us later ;-)

margiel, u be back to sg this sun for a mth...i am going back early april and then will stuck in sg till giving birth end may..no more travelling after april..

welcome, maplehue!

 

[maplehue]

Hi Margiel, so lucky of you to be in Singapore soon. I miss the food there! Like sate and fried kuay teow! But yes, make sure you makan first before you pull the wisdom tooth. I pulled all 4 of them at once a few years ago and it was very painful. Had to eat porridge everyday. You are right. My hubby and I are on the move every few years but this time we hope to settle down a bit and spend more than 2 years in HK. Just hope everything will be okay. It is tiring to keep packing and moving. Plus, it is so hard to make friends like that. Where are you now by the way? And where is your hubby from?

Hello Georgina, good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! Im sure being close to your family in sg will be good after the birth of your baby. Same question for you Georgina, where are you now??
Take care girls and nice chatting with you!

 

[mrs_n]

Hi maplehue I live up North in the countryside so London is still quite a novelty as we hardly go there.

The weather is getting warmer I hope. It was freezing a few days ago. Even the cobwebs in the garden were frozen!

Have you come across the overseassingaporean portal? There is a thread there about applying PR for spouses. Apparently some find it easier to apply through the missions.

HiMargie I'm going back in about 3 weeks time for 3 weeks! Yeah our paths could cross. I think I've been drinking more than eating. Haven't put on that much weight yet.

I've taken out one of my bottom wisdom tooth and was going to take out the other the following year (I only come back once a year for holidays) b'cos it was growing at an angle but the dentist was on maternity leave at that time and the covering dentist didn't want to do it. But since then I started going to the dentist in England and he doesn't want to take it out either unless its giving me trouble! So I'm still stuck with my wisdom teeth. I guess so long as I keep brushing and brushing and brushing it so that no debris is left behind I should be ok. Ha! Ha! Getting free dental now until the child is one year old. So maybe I should ask for wisdom teeth extraction for this duration. Yeah better eat and enjoy the makan before your extraction.

Gina how are you getting on? I'm just recovering from my last midwife visit which was slightly traumatic. Had to do the blood test and the assistant was taking blood but couldn't seem to get any out so she tried on my other hand and only got a little bit. Then the MW tried and managed to get four bottles. They then discovered that they were using the wrong needle! The first one was too big. Guess ang moh people have bigger veins. Alamak now I'm walking around with 2 big bruises like somebody had punched me!

She said I've got to go through this again at 28 weeks and I better remember to tell them I need the small needle next time! Geez!

 

[maplehue]

Ha Mrs N.. you made me laugh about the cobwebs. Really sounds cold there. It is -5 degs here so I decided to stay home and not follow my hubby out. Lazy...So you are also going back to sg? Must be exciting to be with family and friends again, plus the yummy food. Me and hubby will pack everything in Seoul and fly back to sg first in June for a week or so to start the pr thingy. Then off to Canada for 3 weeks to visit his family, then fly back to sg. to tie things up and off we go to our new home in hong kong. I hope i wont get too stressful. If i may ask how many kids do you have Mrs.N? And no I haven't tried overseassingaporean portal yet but will google it after this and see what i can find there. thanks! and have a good weekend everyone

 

[sacredspirits]

Hihi!

Somewhat new here

.

Was trying to plan my SG wedding while I am here in UK and chanced upon this website while doing my research.... It has been really helpful... and this thread made me feel not so alone...

My h2b is not really 'ang mo'... BBC rather... ha... has not been easy planning SG wedding while in UK... bo bian... my parents want wedding there and his parents want wedding here and so, hv to do 2 weddings! ha! who says that wedding is only 'once in your lifetime'??

 

[mrs_n]

Hi maplehue this is baby no 1 for us.

What about you any kids yet? The weather has become milder since. Yesterday was about 9°C. Gosh Seoul is really cold. I know the packing is tiresome but it must be interesting to be able to experiece living in different countries.

Sacredspirits hi welcome to the thread! It's always nice to see new people around here. Whereabouts in the UK are you in? I also had 2 weddings one in the UK and one in S'pore to satisfy both sides of the family. It was fun though as both were so different. We had the church wedding in the UK and Singapore was just a church blessing/dinner. Looking back I think I would have registered my marriage in S'pore because it would have saved us a lot more money! Non-EU residents have to apply for permission to the Home Office if they want to get married in the UK and that costs money besides it is also cheaper to apply for the spouse visa from Singapore.

Pity I didn't know the cost of paperwork in the UK was so exorbitant only until after my marriage. So my advise to you is .... if possible do your ROM in Singapore.

 

[maplehue]

Hi Mrs N. No we don't have any children yet. Both of our parents are slowly bugging us and I guess we are still not ready for it. But then again who is? I am also "tired" of the constant packing and moving. Quite worried that i'll feel like this forever! My mom said that it is okay for now but in a year's time, when we have settled in hk and if i still feel like that, i should see a shrink. Ha!

Stay warm there...

Hello Sacredspirits, welcome aboard. And congratulations on the coming wedding.

Must be exciting for both families! I got married in Singapore and had wedding dinner with my family and some of his friends. Then did another dinner thingy in Canada for the 2nd time for his family. It was fun but hectic and financially expensive!

 

[christie79]

hi everyone!

Trust everyone's doing well!

Sacredspirits & maplehue~Welcome Welcome! Good to see more people here

Gina/Mrs N~ *wave* hope both of you're taking care! Cos 1st bb! Wow! Im feeling excited for you gals!

Margiel~have a great, safe flight!

Pris~Im fine, back in SG now til mid march (hehe im trying to hide away from the cold of -14deg!) The classes are ok, i brought some worksheets and the CD rom & CD along with me and im trying to revise during some of the time

Yup im really into cooking and baking hence the posts there to share

Im also trying to take up photography these days

 

[eminozy]

wow !

lotsa things happening!

welcome to sacredspirits and maplehue.

I am finally online at home officially. took a while to decide the ISP and also get into the momentum of being in a proper housing at last. a place we can call home and furnished for the next year!

Mrs N, you are worried of being adverse to spore food? hmmmmm. that can be quite a tragedy, but i think you will cope along fine eventually!just avoid curries in the first few days. i gt sick eating curries as it was too intense for my stomache! heheheh

Georgina.... is giving birth in spore cheaper than Oz? is there any difference?

maplehue.... what were you doing in Melbourne? were u studying at monash? I live at east malvern currently! heheheh i have been moving around too and getting sick of it. chris and me have no idea where we will be next year. its exciting but exhausting,yes.

sacredspirits... dont worry, a few of us here have more than 2 weddings! hehehahah. i had one in oz, in melaka and last in spore.... can die one... but i had so much fun and of course penniless after that!

ladies, a few of my official wedding pictures are already uploaded on my multiply!hehehe. enjoy!

 

[cuclainne]

hello hello everyone ... sorry, been so busy lately. elias has been away for work 3 times, in as many weeks and i've had to take care of the kids .. oh dear, i've forgotten about the sleep deprivation with a newborn at home plus sofi has been so clingy lately .. esp. with her father's absence. having my brother around at home is not helping much as sofi has learnt to give him the slip in the middle of the night, to crawl into bed with me and her sister.

hi to maplehue and sacredspirits .. welcome welcome ..

 

[maplehue]

Hi Christie, so nice to know that you are back in Sg. Enjoy the yummy food! Are you taking any course right now? Just curious when you mentioned about the Cd and worksheets.

Hello eminozi, East malvern is a neat suburb! yes i went to monash to do my post graduate study. used to drive to chadstone right after lecture and sit at borders with a cup of earl grey tea and a good magazine. i think easter in melbourne is in march and that means hot cross bun time! oh my goodness, i so miss the choc cross bun from Bakers Delight. Pls. eat some for me if you can

Hang in there Cuclainne. My sis have 2 daughters and they are 7 and 5 years old now. I remember how she used to "complain" about having to juggle the 2 beauties non stop when they were younger. Having a domestic help didn't really help cos like your babies, they still want their Mommy.

Glad to chat with you girls today.

I am in a fantastic mood cos in 4 days time, my mom will come and visit from sg. she is going to bring some fruitcake for me(korea has none and if they do, its with nuts. i am allergic to all nuts). She said she will also bring some mc donald curry dipping sauce, "asam pedas" paste and some "sambal tumis". Just hope they won't get confiscated at the airport. I'll cry if they do.

Mrs. N, hope you are well. Forgot to ask you, how old is you child?
And hows the weather there.? Getting any better? It snowed a lot here yesterday when i thought i could stop wearing my thick winter coat. And now the roads are all full of slush. Poor white car, she is all browny now.

 

[christie79]

Hi hi!

EJ~Wow your headgear seems heavy but grand! Nice pictures!

Cuclainne~See you & your gals next wed PM!

Maplehue~Im curently taking Norwegian course in Norway. I married my viking guy last june and under the spouse scheme, im entitled to have free language&social studies courses. Materials are all provided, Cd rom and CDs as well as textbooks and workbooks. Cos now im visiting SG so i just took along some of the lighter learning stuffs

to do some homework here hehhe..also that means i have more space in luggage to get foodstuffs and such back

 

[mrs_n]

Hee! Hee! Maplehue my child isn't born yet!

Currently I'm 16 weeks plus and baby will be arriving in August. Expected due date is on the eve of National Day.

Weather has gone milder in the past few days so I can go back to two layers again. We had an earthquake in the wee hours of the morning (about 1 am). The whole house was shaking and the windows were rattling. I thought for a moment the house was going to collapse. Scary! Just found out on the news that it was the largest earthquake in Britain in 24 years. Epicentre was somewhere in Northeast Lincolnshire so not too far away from us.

EJ I think I'm only adverse to Singapore food if its cooked by me. But if someone else does the cooking ...

Poor Cuclainne you sound quite tired out. Do try to have some rest when you can ya?

Chrisl have you gone on your family holiday yet? Good for you that you still have time to do some studying. I remember I used to bring back my laptop and journals to Sg so that I could do some write up on my thesis. But always never end up doing anything! Ha! Ha! Just an additional weight to cary back and forth with me just to make me feel better that I brought some work along with me.

 

[gottliebt]

DeluxeHey girl, I hardly use my hotmail account now. Could you send me a link to my gmail acct? Its [email protected] I don´t know how to accept PM leh....

Hmm, I don´t want to do the same work as I did in Singapore..:Was wking for 1.5 hrs as a tax consultant, and anyways the german tax laws are different from Sg ones...so that´s quite a non-starter. I did apply in my previous employer in stuttgart though and they rejected me saying I didn´t have the proper qualifications. (like duh?!? I wked in the Sg office....)Anyways, will just wait it out for now and decide again where I want to apply....

Well, SIngaporeans are considered "mother tongue" for english leh....that´s the language that we grew up in. English is definitely my most fluent language (so that´s like mother tongue). Having said that though, I went for 2 interviews in a private eng sch n was so hopin to get the job but still lost the job to someone else...I´m beginning to think that its simply because there are way more job-seekers than jobs here!

 

[gottliebt]

Cuclainne Any photos of yr newborn yet? I keep checking yr multiply site but there´s no photos so I figured that you´re probably swamped with the additional workload of looking after a newborn on top of having a toddler.....You take care ok? Look forward to hearing from u soon...

 

[eminozy]

heheh. hello.

chrisl, thanks! yeah my headgear is heavy but after awhile u kinda get used to the weight.it kinda helped u to upright ur posture.. hehehhaha.

Mrs N, thats ok lah.. sometimes i get jelak with my food. i cant take it no more too, nowadays!

maplehue, i am more into those jewish bread at balaclava... but oklah i eat for you if i pass bakers delite!

 

[maplehue]

Chris, so lucky of you to have that privilege to learn another language free of charge!

I remember having to pay quite a lot for my french class and that still doesn't make me a fluent french speaker. I struggled a bit when i was living in Montreal. I had problem pronouncing the word "Rue" cos they have different sound to different words and my home address there was at "Rue Pontiac". It was terrible cos everyone you meet will ask you where you live! Anyway, enough about me. Do you have to sit for any test? AND is hubby there with you in Sg?

Hello Mrs. N. Hehehee. Sorry my bad. I thought you've already given birth to your baby. So 16 weeks yeah? Are you going to "plan" for your baby to be borned on National day?She/he will get to have a birthday holiday ever year if you guys are in Sg!

That earthquake sounds scary. Lucky thing it wasn't a national disaster thing. I didn't know Britain has earthquake. In between, are you craving for anything now?

Emilia, I browsed quickly at the past archives and saw your picture with hubby during your solemnization. You looked playful but very sweet. Mine was a private and small one at home. Have you been doing some artwork lately? I saw your occ. as artist. What is your medium?

I have been good with creating art works but unfortunately Korea isn't a good place for these things so since me and my hubby moved to Seoul almost 2 years ago, I have stopped practicing and only paint at home. Melbourne has heaps of galleries. The last gallery I exhibited was at Cusp Gallery in Northcote. Also collaborated a bit for the A4 show at Westspace and a few others. I really miss those days...AND OH..the jewish bread??? Aren't they scrummy?! Eat that one for me too okay!

And i also like the $2 shops there. Always ended up buying something there!

 

[cuclainne]

maplehue: thank goodness i have my mom and brother to help me out .. for the last trip the hub went on, i just decided to bring the kids and stay at my mom's place so on some nights, she actually woke up and help me with the night feeds .. otherwise i'll be a complete zombie .. my girls are 16 months and 1 month old.

chrisl: yes yes .. see you guys next week at my place ..

mrs n: yup .. usually so tired that i'm dead to the world when i take a nap during the day. yesterday there was a fire at the coffeeshop next block to my mom's place and i didn't even stir when the fire engines came .. my brother told me, when i finally woke up, that the sirens were so loud .. that was how tired i am .. hahahaha ..

priscilla: sorry, no chance to update the photos on multiply yet - the hub was away with my laptop .. now that he's back, i've been uploading sofi's photos on fotopages for my mil to view and i'm not even done yet .. that's how far behind i am. i'll try to post some soon.

 

[sacredspirits]

Wow... just a few days not online and this thread is pretty 'hot'!

Anyway, thank you everyone for the welcome!!

i am actually still a little confused over the wedding planning... ha... hmm... Mrs N, first of all, congrats!! ... and hope the earthquake is not affecting u too much... i dont remember feeling anything here in london... but well.. i must b at least half asleep!!

Looks like a number of singaporeans overseas... germany, canada, australia, new zealand??....

i checked on the Singapore ROM website, seems like my H2B has to have lived in Singapore for at least 15 days b4 we are allowed to register our marriage there? and also, marriages registered in singapore, r there recognised here??

yeah... the fees to just apply for a 'Certificate of Approval' for non-EU people is mad... about £300 just for that piece of paper... hmm.... maybe i should consider getting the spousal visa from singapore then... ha..

i am in london at the moment... though looking at a little out of london for our new home together... house prices is just exorbitant here in London!!!

how have u guys been coping with living overseas? i m still missing the food...

 

[de_luxe]

Hello everyone and welcome scaredspirits and maplehue

I'm lost after reading all the recent posts...

Have been quiet cuz i dun have internet at home until Telstra installs it on 11 march. That was apparently the earliest possible date. It's so fustrating cuz we were given different info each time we enquired. First we were told that we'll get the modem upon signing up and all we need to do is to plug it in. After signing up, we were told they need to check if cable is available at our place and that someone will call us within the week to make an appointment for an installation. Waited and waited and nothing happened so I found the customer service number and called and was told that i needed an appointment. I was like, yeah i know, but someone was supposed to call. The response? "Oh i don't know what happened there, but the earliest possible is 11 march". So here i am, resigned to using wifi at a nearby cafe nearly everday. Only can use a max of 2 hrs per day cuz that's the life span of the battery and there are no power points in the sitting area.

Also still waiting for shipment to arrive - it has been stuck at customs since 2 feb, was told last friday that the delay is because customs is shorthanded!!! Just got a call that customs finally cleared and the earliest possible delivery is next week!

So given all that has happened... we don't really feel like we've settled down and it's pretty boring living in an empty apt...

I'm going to Perth next week for a couple of days to visit a fren - looking forward to the breaking the monotony of life here!

Maplehue how do you deal with the constant moving? I've moved 3 times in less than 2 yrs...quite tiring.. and we are likely to leave Melbourne within the yr... so far the hardest bit of moving to melbourne is that we hardly know anyone here and it's generally not so easy to get to know pple...

Other than that, Melb is a nice place to be in (minus the crazy weather) I live in toorak and have pretty much explored all the villages around here... definitely plenty to eat!

Have to go now... laptop batt is dying... see you all ard at the next opportunity!

 

[maplehue]

Good afternoon ladies,

Cuclainne, I am glad that you got some help from your Mom and brother while your darling was away and now that your hubby is back, it should be slightly better I hope. I am sure the two sweeties are capable of making you feel tired.

I do admire you and your strength. Are you taking any energy boosting supplement? My hubby and i do talk about starting a family too but our lifestyle hasn't been that good for it. I so hope Hong Kong will be different and we could stay longer like 4-5 years. I have been there as a tourist but never lived there. Has any of you ladies lived in HK before? I've seen your wedding picture too Cuclainne. I like the one in black and white. So candid ands so loving!

Sacredspirits, I don't remember reading a clause about the 15 days requirement to register to marry. My husband and I actually did an online application to register for an interview to marry and we did it in Bali. Well, that was where he proposed to me and the very next day, we registered online.

Hello Deluxe. Sorry to hear about all the delays and all. That was one of my biggest frustrations when I was in Melbourne. Telstra was annoying didn't keep their word with the set appointment and in my third year(I don't know why i waited so long), i changed to Optus. Do you know that Optus is a Sg owned company? But they don't give any discount to Singaporeans. And yes, the shipping and customs...not as efficient. I really like Melbourne cos of the multi-cultural background and diversity and also the art scenes but I don't really like the pace of work there. Everything is much slower. Being a Singaporean, we are used to efficiency right? Hang in there girlie!
The constant moving is draining me Deluxe. I have been moving a lot and am quite tired of having to start all over again all the time, making new friends etc. First year is about adjusting, then as we are feeling a bit more comfy in our second, it's time to pack and move again! So we hope to stay longer and "stabilize" a bit in HK when we move there in June. I miss having close and long lasting friends! How long will you be staying in Melbourne? I like Toorak. There are many nice houses there and some are pretty dear

Take care and press on okay

Mrs. N....how are you? Any more earthquake? I hope not!! Stay warm

 

[eminozy]

Maplehue .
heheh. tell me about 'moving, getting to know, being comfy and then outta here again' cycle. I am so over it. because of this chosen lifestyle. I cant start anything nor stay in anything permanently. i am a permanent wonderer/wanderer. No actualities just more and more responsibilities on my shoulder. It sucks. I yearn for stability. But i think my destiny doesnt allow me so.

You saw my other photos? hehehha. yeah... we cant help laughing all the time. i think marriage is the best thing in our life. At least its the only permanent( if you want it to be)thing i have in my life!

what artist am i? i am a glass artist.

De-luxe. are u really feeling down? Hmmm. well, not to worry. Life is that way in a big city, you kinda get used to it. I had that experience many a time. But then again it gives you time to reflect on your life. sometimes, you reflect too much which is no good too! heheheh

Once i get into a more healthier mode (been sick this week) and less busy, we can go jalan2.
next week i will be out of town for a week too!

off to adelaide! woohoo.

take care Mrs N. dont let the shake get to you!

 

[mrs_n]

Hi sacredspirits

From what I understand from the ROM website is that one of you (either yourself or H2B) must be physically present in Singapore for 15 days before filing notice of marriage. Are marriages in S'pore recognised in the UK? We should certainly hope so otherwise quite a few people on this thread will be in trouble!

CoA has gone up to £300! That's so ridiculous. And on top of that you have to pay the registrar's fees as well. When I got married it was £130 I think. And I already thought that was ex!!! Anyway just got my PR approved and we're £750 poorer. Anyway that should be the end of my dealings with the Home Office for a very very very long time (I hope).

Yes house prices in London are so ex. We were in London for one weekend in January and were so amazed at the house prices we saw. For the price of a 2 bed flat you could get a 3 bed house up North in the area where we live. But I guess the outskirts is a little cheaper even though it might take a little more time travelling to work for some. But living in London has its advantages as there's easy access to Asian food stores and there are plentiful asian restaurants to choose from. Oh! Did you know that a group of Singaporeans (I think they call themselves Est 1819) meet every month for Dim Sum?

Maplehue and EJ I'm ok. Thanks for asking. Looking forward to going home in 2 weeks time.

Oh no, no more shakes. Thank goodness. Our favourite Chinese restaurant in town wasn't so lucky as part of its chimmney had fallen off. The poor guys had to close their business for a few days. We were all terribly surprised and disappointed that the 'eyesore' building in town is still standing though! Looking at the state it was in (it is abandoned and has a tree growing through its roof) we wouldn't have expected it to survive. But it did.

EJ hope you'll feel better soon. And deluxe just hang in there. You'll settle in eventually.

Maplehue your hubby is French Canadian? Isn't the french spoken in Canada different from the one spoken in France? My cousin who lives in Toronto had learnt french. But she said when she tried speaking french to the French Canadians they didn't understand her and she didn't unerstand them either!

Anyway have a good weekend everybody.

 

[tootsieroll]

Hi again all (after long leave of absence!)

All these babies - it must be something to do with being on the forum

Cuclainne - Congrats!! Nice name - Elin's similar to Joseph when he was born - he was 3.92kg, also emergency C-section. Hope both of you are doing well

How was the recovery for you this time?

Mrs N - Congrats too! You must be super excited

Pris - Tried getting into your blog, but I can't get it because of the limited access - can u 'invite' me?

Everyone else - Hi to all, still trying to catch up with the names I'm not so familiar with!

As to my news, I'm due for baby #2 anytime now, they're threatening me with a C-section, but I'm really not keen. 'Ratty' was already 3.4kg at 37 weeks, so if form is anything to go by, she's going to be similar sized to her brother. Joseph loves blowing raspberries on my tummy, so with any luck, he will be as loving when 'Ratty' comes to stay with us for good. In the meantime, I'm going to try and run a marathon, do some jumping jacks, overdose on pineapple, drown myself in raspberry leaf tea, to try and get her to come out

 

[sacredspirits]

Hihi everyone!

Seems like quite a number of you are having 'new additions' to your family soon... congrats congrats congrats!!

Maplehue and De_luxe, I knew someone who had to move every 3-5 years due to her husband's work commitments... she voiced the same feelings as well... and stated that the most difficult part is getting to know people.... I really dont know how u guys cope with that... hmm... but well, maybe good thing about it is that u r able to experience different countries then! Mapledue, HK should be ok to live in... esp if u know how to converse in cantonese.... 2 of my friends r working there at the moment... both seems to be ok living there....

Mrs N, thanks for the info.... i m still undecided on where to register marriage... ha! singapore cheaper... but then here in UK can go to 'unique' venues for civil ceremonies (registration)... castles, vine yard, golf clubs, race course... ha... even musuems... but of course, very expensive... hmm... dunno leh.... i dunno EST 1819... there is this Singapore UK Association (SUKA) though.... must admit that i seldom go to their activities... though i meet up with some singaporeans and malaysians here to play mahjong monthly... ha!

Tootsieroll... hmm.. when u said u r planning to go run marathon, i nearly 'peng' (fall off)!! ha... was watching past episodes of 'Friends' on telly the other day... have u heard about the 'other way' of trying to get babies to come out? ;P

 

[tootsieroll]

Sacredspirits: Yes, although I thought I wouldn't go as far as mention it on the forum Are you in London? I was thinking of going to the SUKA CNY event, but didn't in the end.

 

[fruitchick]

Hey Sacredspirits, Mrs N, I don't think there's any "price" difference in registering marriage in SG or UK anymore as my friend recently got married to a British person - they registered their marriage in Singapore and she had to pay an equivalent sum to what we pay for the visa so I think in that sense there's no difference. She did have to wait a few weeks for her visa to come through though.

Scarespirits, Mrs N is right. ur husband to be need not be in Singapore for at least 15 days. One of you have to be so u can be in SG for 15 days and he can just pop over for the registration. I must admit that I think its more expenseive to reigster in the UK though compared to SG after taking into account registration & the cost of visas, etc.

SG marriages are recognised in the UK except in Singapore, when you register, they give you a nice folder and its all done up nicely. Here, we just got a piece of paper that's it. So shoddy!

I think u can get SG newspapers and Her World magazines for free at SUKA - check it out, don't quote me but I'm not close enough to London to get this "freebie".

At least being in London, you have access to a few good eateries that have singaporean food and good chinese food. The one thing I do miss being overseas is not hearing anything other than English. I am cantonese and sometimes do miss hearing it!

 

[maplehue]

Good Sunday afternoon ladies,
Hey there Emelia, I know exactly what you mean by yearning that stability. It is exciting to be traveling but the constant moving and starting fresh all the time can be draining too. Both of us including our significant others have something in common. We are both 'artistic' and both our hubbies are involved in sports.

There was only one picture of you and your husband. Where are the rest?? Would like to see more. Maybe can email me??

I'll send you ours if you are interested to put a face to whom you are corresponding

Adelaide sounds good. I can't wait to jalan jalan myself. We are planning for a short break in April. My hubby wants to go to either Maui or Perth but I'm not that keen. He wants to kite surf!..againnn. Any of the ladies' hubbies here kite surf?

Hello Mrs. N? How are you today? I must admit you made me chuckle a bit with your story about that buidling still standing tall after all the shake.

That was quite funny? Is your fav. chinese restaurant opening soon? Poor chap. Hope the damage wasn't that bad. My hubby is not a french canadian Mrs.N. He is canadian but his family lived there for awhile and they all speak French. I know what your sis mean about the french. The same thing happened to us. When I was in Paris and France, their french was slightly different. Maybe its the pronounciation or even the accent. I'm not sure. Just like Malay language and Bahasa Indonesia I guess. Similar but still a little different. Now they are in Vancouver and not speaking French anymore. The hubby and I still speak it at home but mostly we converse in english.

Hi Tootsieroll. Wishing you a smooth delivery and congratulations!

Hi Sacredspirits, thank you for the information about HK.

I am sure it will be fine to live there. My conversational Mandarin is quite okay and I should be fine but I dont speak Cantonese though. Hope this won't be a problem.

Deluxe, hope you are coping well there in Melbourne. Have you guys cleared with the custom yet? I hope so. Hang in there okay

And Cuclainne, haven't heard from you for a while. You must be busy juggling everything. Do take care alright

Hello to you too fruitchick.

Take care everyone...and oh, my mom is finally here. We drove to the airport at 6 am this morning and it snowed a bit but everything went well. She is taking a nap now and with the goodies she brought from sg...I am a happy girl!

 

[eminozy]

hello maple.... that was a fast respond! . one foto? that cant be rite. i have heaps of foto on my multiply side.hmmmm. your husband is in sports too?? what kind? my husband is those lazy-ass sports person...doesnt do sports at all, although a sports scientist! heheheh he said its enough when he was younger, coz he dont want to get osteoperosis and all that jazz. hehehe

whats your email?
i went to a thai fest today in the city. it was like 30 degrees, i burnt my foot, due to the strong sun. crazy. had traditional thai noodles and sweat like crazy amongst the sea of people. went back afterwards and fell asleep. hehehe. what a sunday!

Mrs N. alamak the roof fell off? well, now you have to wait a few weeks before you can eat chinese food!

 

[sacredspirits]

hi tootsieroll and fruitchick... yeah... i m in london at the moment.... r both of u here too? i ddin go for the CNY event by SUKA as well.... ha... mayb sometimes i feel a bit pai sey going there by myself... cos my h2b works on saturdays and so, it's difficult for him to join me... only 4 other singaporean frens here... one busy with her baby, one busy with 'pat tor', 2 other still busy studying here... ha... anyway, thanks for the tip, fruitchick! will try check it out SUKA freebies! i sometimes invite singapore friends over for simple meals... i understand abt missing speaking the familiar language... i love it when my singaporean frens and i meet... can just speak 'singlish'.... ha... PM me your email addresses if u wanna join us...

Maplehue, u might want to learn some cantonese b4 u go though... i went HK few years back and people not so friendly when i couldnt speak cantonese! a british (of chinese ethnicity) fren just went during CNY period this year... she voiced the same feelings as well....

everyone else... hihi...

 

[cuclainne]

maplehue: no energy boosting supplements for me .. though i sure wish i could feed off the energy from my eldest .. perhaps that might actually calm her down a bit from being quite the naughty girl these days .. i've only been to HK as a tourist too though i've heard from several colleagues who've had the opportunity to live there that it can be quite tough if you don't speak cantonese ..

Mrs N: is Mr N accompanying you on the trip? how is the pregnancy coming along - do you know the gender yet? perhaps we could meet up, if you have the time to spare ..

Tootsieroll: hey, long time no see .. now we know what you've been busy with .. hehehe .. how old is Joseph now? i found that it didn't hurt so much to walk up and about after the surgery this time though i did have some 'issues' afterwards like having to go back to the hospital to get the second knot removed (the nurse only snip off one end cos that was the only one she could find on the day of my discharge) and some other stuff which totally freaked me out cos the hub was away for work and i didn't know what to do .. thankfully all is well now, though i've yet to go back for the review by my gynae.

'ratty' might well break her brother's record like elin did with sofi's .. they still had to use a forcep though cos the gynae said her head was big .. haahah .. do you still maintain that blog of yours?

two more weeks till my MIL arrives ..

 

[mrs_n]

Cuclainne yes Mr N is coming along. Oh meeting up would be nice. Are you one of the few left in Sg now? Apart from not feeling like doing much else I'm pretty ok. We wouldn't know the gender until the day of arrival as Mr N thinks its a good idea to have a surprise. He said waiting a few more months won't change anything. I suppose he's right though I sometimes think that curiousity will get the better of me.

Tootsieroll welcome back!

Here's hoping and praying that you and your 'minnie mouse' will have a safe delivery. In the meantime, have fun running the marathon and drowning yourself with pineapple and raspberry tea.

Fruitchick oh the differences are not significant now are they. They must have discovered their loophole.

Hey haven't seen you around for a while too. How are you getting on in your corner of the UK? Has the wedding plans progressed forward?

Maplehue so nice to have your mother around. You can go galavating round with her. What is Seoul like? Is it as busy as Singapore?

I have a Taiwanese friend working in London and she said that she finds it hard to get on with her HK colleagues as they are always speaking in Cantonese. And they do it even when they are working in groups knowing full well that she doesn't understand. It's a bit unkind when after all she's also ethnic chinese.

Anyway what is kite surfing? Ooooh do share your pictures. Are you on multiply? Most of us are on it so if you want to put names to faces ...

sacredspirits Est 1819 was started last year. Looking at the activities organised, it seems more like a singaporean makan club.

http://singaporeans.meetup.com/51/
Would probably have join in, if I lived close enough to London.

Hee! Hee! Who says you can't have your castles, vineyards etc venue even if you ROM in Sg? Aiyah, you can do your tea ceremony, reception etc in these places just minus the civil ceremony bit! Or if you want a bit of drama, you can get one of the elders in your family to act as a presider and you can 'renew' your marriage vows in such surroundings!

EJ no lah not the roof! It was their chimmney.

There are other Chinese restaurants in our town but they aren't as good. I think for Chinese food I will wait for 2 more weeks until I get home.

Wonder how's Margie coping with her wisdom teeth extraction!

 

[margiel]

Hey girls, so much to catch up here! Well it's been a weeks since i came back to Sg, pretty busy and my 1st 2weeks all fully booked! Not too bad, still able to sort our some personal stuffs.

Mrs N, when will U be in Sg? I have not done my teeth yet. Prob next tue, have to remember to call dentist 2moro to make appt. Total 3 and all on the left side. Upper, lower wisdom and 1 extra tooth which is of no function. But as days getting nearer, i think i may 'chicken' out, will prob leave the extra tooth 1st? I oso duno lor, so confusing each time i think of it even tho mentally im clear that these are the ones sooner or later have to be extracted!

Will be meeting up with Chris and Nisa this coming week

Hey nisa, do u need help in diapers changing? Chris n I shd be expert in that area with our past profession!! *kekeke* See ya!

Oh and also late hello again to Maplehue and sacredspirits. A little abt myself, hubby and i got married last Jul in melb, afterwhich i started moving my life there to join him. We will be having a small wedding dinner in Sg in Jul this yr, abt 5-6 tables, a cosy one with close relatives and friends. Have read thru past posts but too long for me to focus and remember hehehe... Hope u girls have a good week ahead! Cheers

 

[maplehue]

Good morning ladies,
Emilia, where is your 'multiply side' and how do i go about accessing it? I know, I know..I am quite terrible with these things! Hee

Yes,my hubby is in athletics. He is a Director of Sport. You made me laugh about your hubby getting osteoporosis! My hubby has been playing rugby a lot in the past but now he kite surfs. So far he is still up and about

but of course when he is sore, who else is there to massage him?? Il est moi!
My email is [email protected]. Hope to hear from you soon yeah!
how is your foot now? Poor feet.You wore sandals didn't you? The last time I had that, the tanned line stayed for weeks! The thai food sounds scrummy! Glad you had a good Sunday

Hi Sacredspirits, oh no! Do I really need to learn some cantonese? This is definitely not good news. My hubby can speak some mandarin cos he lived in China before and picked it up from there but cantonese..zero knowledge. I'll tell him later in the evening and see what he has to say. We both tried learning some Korean but it was a total failure. hee

We can only say "Kamsahamnida" for thank you in Korean.

Hello Cuclainne. Good to hear from the busy mom!

The eldest beauty sounds a little "menggertil" yeah! I hope your girls are sleeping well at night. This way you and your hubby can get some quiet timeout. When my nieces were around your daughters' age(maybe slightly older), they didn't sleep till midnight and my sis who is a working mom struggled a lot. I was afraid that she was going to crack or something. Then she found out that her daughters were taking a very long nap every afternoon! So she made a roster for the girls' routine for the maid to follow. It improved quite a lot cos they started sleeping at 9 a week later

Press on girl...and here I am getting worried about learning cantonese! Hee.

Good day Mrs.N. Yes, I am enjoying the goodies from sg. My Mom "smuggled" some cooked 'rendang' for me. So yummyyy. Seoul is so so to me. This is my Mom's 4th trip and she's been to everywhere like Itaewon, myendong, dongdaemon. I prefer Orchard in Sg or Robson street in Vancouver. People are not that friendly here Mrs. N. And there is not consistency. They charge different price to different people. WE get charged a lot cos of our color and of course having a white hubby doesn't help at all.
I would love to be on the 'multiply' but what on earth is that?? Hah!

It would be nice to see your pic. too?!

So far I've only seen Cuclainne and Emelia, no one else.

Kitesurf is also known as kiteboarding.
Below is a pic. of it. The downside about it is that you have to rely on how strong the wind is or you won't get to kite.
The incident with your Taiwanese friend was definitely not on. That was very insensitive of her cantonese speaking colleagues! They are not friends then.

Hello Margiel, thank you for the short introduction

Your dinner sounds like it is going to be a lovely and intimate affair.

Didn't get t congrat you last year so here it is..Congratulations to you and hubby!

In bet..try not to 'chicken' out from pulling those wisdom tooth. I did all 4 when i was in melbourne. it was horrible but GREAT riddance! Good luck

Okay I better sign off now. Have a good afternoon ladies. Talk to you all soon. Mrs.N and ladies, just fyi..below is a pic. of someone kiting.

 

[eminozy]

hehehe maplehue. i think i will asking u a lot about your husband's job and how to get contacts. chris is halfway dead doing research. he is itchy to go into administration but have no idea where to start. maybe can help him a little. he used to be this super athlete.. now he like to look at athletic people only.

hehehahahha one of his greatest achievement was being the strength trainer for the national olympic beach volleyball team for austria for a couple of years in vienna, but he thinks its no big deal! hehehhehah. anyways, whats ur husband's name?

will email you in a bit!

 

[maplehue]

Hi Emilia,
Good to hear from you! What is Chris doing now in his research. Yeah, Jeff, is my hubby's name and he is in Administration. He is very busy and sometimes I miss him so much!

Jeff thinks that working with professional olympic athletes is impressive! Jeff has coached varsity volleyball teams and would be interested in talking with your hubby over a drink sometime

Hello to all the ladies too. Have a great evening to all of you

Ok Emelia, Got your email just now and Im going to g-mail you back now!

Mrs.N, maybe can e-mail me a picture of you too?

Would love to know who I am chatting with.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Wow! Newbies! Welcome! Cannot follow the thread, moving like speed train. Hahaha... MIA for some time. Been busy....

Cucl Congrats!

Tootsel, Congrats on yr 2nd baby.

Mrs N, sorry couldn't reply yr CNY well-wishes. Pei seh! Enjoy yr stay in sg!

Margiel, good luck with yr wisdom tooth.

Those who are in Singapore, enjoy! Envy!

Hi hi to all ladies.

Hi hi to sacredspirit n maplehue!

Emilia, i want to see yr wedding photos!

 

[tootsieroll]

sacredsp: I'm in Essex, which is close enough

Hven't been to London in ages!! There's a good chinese restaurant in Ilford where we go to have our dim dum fix. Where in London are you?

Cuclainne: Ugh, not looking forward to having a caesarean at all, especially with Joseph wanting to play all the time. He's almost 23months now, so terrible 2s plus a newborn....fun!! Ya I still have the blog, I don't write in it as much though, maybe monthly.....no time lah

 

[eminozy]

hey elizabeth.. my wedding photos, its on my multiply lah. do you know the link? hope you are doing ok, so long never hear aaaahhh!

ladies...all this chinese restaurant food talking made me go for shanghai food this evening.... so good and cheap somore and 5 mins drive from my place. its all good. now i have ODied on msg and having a pounding headache! hehehehah

hey eni... thanks for talking to jeff, yeah chris needs some kinda motivation, his passion is slowly ceasing and its sad to look at a person who is so passionate of sports suddenly breaks down. both of us are having mid life crisis jobwise! hehehaha. its hard being in your 30's! hehehahhaha

oh well. at least we are both having it at the same time.. so we cant be angry at each other for being this way. sports and arts i reckon are the most silliest selfish passion one can have!

 

[sacredspirits]

This thread is really 'hot'!

Anyway, hello everyone! I must apologise that I won't be able to remember who's who very well! ha....
Cannot be online for too long, so just a short answer to Tootsieroll... I am in Southfields area (close to Wimbledon) at the moment but in the process of getting a home with my h2b at Sunbury... (Middlesex)...

got to go... talk to you gals (hmm... no guys rite?) next time!

and thanks Mrs N for the link!

 

[georginat]

maplehue, i am in canberrs at the moment, will go back to sg in april to deliver

Mrs. N, i hate injection too but no choice...i have done my 1st blood test, i think in 3rd trimester have to do another blood test..i am now at week 27

EJ, i don tknow if its cheaper to give birth in sg or oz but i would prefer sg coz i believe in confinement and secondly i trust the doc more in sg !!!

 

[cuclainne]

Mrs N: My MIL didn't want to know as well when i was preggie with Sofi but the husband was mean and told her anyway .. with Elin, I asked if she wanted us to keep the gender a surprise and she said yes so i didn't say anything .. so have you started on your baby buying spree yet? when we had sofi, we bought so many things cos being first-time parents, we were not sure of what we needed, etc - ended up that most of things were not used and have been handed down to elin .. poor her .. but it's ok, at this age they don't know! hahahah ..

Margiel & Chrisl: thanks for coming over this afternoon despite the weather.. so many things to talk about that the time just passed by so quickly .. by the way, i didn't take you guys up on the diaper offer so next time ok .. heheheh ..

Maplehue: my eldest was really easy to handle when she was younger - she has been in infantcare since she was 3 months old. by the time i bring her home, she would be asleep by 7pm and that would be with 2 daytime naps but now that she's older, we try to put her to sleep by 9pm .. all those nights at my mom's place has really spoiled her la cos everyone pampers her a lot there .. plus my nephew is the big chief so as long as he's awake, she refuses to sleep and we always have a hard time getting her back to her routine once she's had a sleepover. she'll be clingy and will only sleep if someone accompanies her .. so different from before when we just leave her in the cot to fall asleep by herself .. she's had a break from infantcare when i delivered so now we've been sending her there on some days so she can adjust back to the routine .. otherwise i'll suffer when i go back to work in april.

Elizabeth: thanks .. how's everything with you?

Tootsieroll: yah i remember that .. when i was preggers with Elin, Sofi wanted to be carried all the time .. was so tired and yes, no time for anything!! when they wheeled me into the theatre for the surgery, i remember thinking if i can change my mind and refuse the surgery .. hahahah .. it was so funny - we hadn't expected my waterbag to burst that morning and elias suggested that i have lunch first before going to the hospital. since i didn't know how long we'd have to wait, i said ok. when they brought me to the delivery suite, the nurse told me that i shouldn't have eaten cos now i have to wait 6 hours for the food to be somewhat digested .. otherwise i could have had the surgery done immediately - like DUH!

Gina: how are you, girl .. must be feeling quite tired with all that travelling yah ..

 

[mrs_n]

maplehue my photos are on multiply. Id is: paulandsharon You can check out their site on www.multiply.com

Ah so kite sufing is pretty much wind sufing with a kite!!

My friend has since left the company had a better job elsewhere and hopefully better colleagues.

Cuclainne my SIL has been keeping her 'baby stuff' for the past 8 years in the hope of passing them on to her brother.

So we got most of the big stuff covered just need to get some clothes, bottles, diapers etc etc My MIL has advised me not to refuse my SIL if she wants to give us baby stuff even if we think we don't need it. Ha! Ha! Not too sure if she was saying that in the hope that my SIL's house will become more 'tidy' once she got rid of 'unnecessary' items.

Liz no problem. Hope your course is going well.

Margie I'll be arriving on 16 Mar. You going to take out all 3 teeth at once!!! One already bad enough but threee ... wow you're really brave. Good luck!

Sacredspirits you're welcome.

Gina you're already in your 27th week, time is certainly flying by. Not too long now yah?

 

[maplehue]

Good morning ladies,

Elizabeth, thank you for the welcome

Emi, I agree..sports and arts are careers of passion

Maybe one day we can collaborate in an exhibition yeah. You must be on your road trip to Adelaide right now. Enjoy and have fun! So lucky of you and Chris...you guys got to take time off! Jeff and I can't wait for our April holiday. Its only 9 days but still.. Really need to get out of Korea.

Hello Georgina, I hope you are doing well with your pregnancy. Being with family and familiarities will be good for you

I am sure your family is excited to have you home. Congratulations and best wishes to you and hubby..and the baby to come

Hi Cuclainne, how is your eldest beauty doing today? I hear you and have heard stories from my sister about her girls being spoiled by the grandma. Hee

I hope her clingy-ness won't last too long. My sister just overcame that clingy-ness from her eldest girl. My eldest niece had that separation anxiety till she was six years old. We know that clingyness is completely normal in 1- to 3-year-olds but 6 years old?? They managed to overcome it and the girls are sleeping in their own room now. And yes i agree with you, if this goes on, you won't get your rest when you start work in April. Does she just want you or both you and hubby?

Hello Mrs. N..thank you. I will try Multiply after this. I am so new to it. The only one I've viewed was Emilia's website. She is one happy girl in all her pictures. Maybe I should start one so this way, I can communicate via multiply with all the ladies here!

Even my sister has it. I have only heard of Facebook. In about 2 weeks, you will be back in Singapore with the hubby yeah?

Enjoy the food Mrs.N! I have to wait for 3 more months to be back there. Will you still be in Sg in June?

Deluxe...how are you? Hope things are better there with the custom, Telstra, internet and everything else!

 

[tootsieroll]

Cuclainne,
Still waiting......xian already! Anyway Joseph has now decided he wants his cot back - keeps climbing into it! Sofi must be running around the house now eh? How you keep up with her and Elin in tow? Are you breast or bottle feeding? Joseph only came off the breast last Christmas....a few tantrums, but has weaned off well, and now doesn't miss it at all.

Mrs N: Lucky to have hand-me-downs.....I think it's important to have a good cot mattress though, so if those can be a new item rather than an 8-10 year old one, it would be worth it

 

[cuclainne]

maplehue: she's doing better now that we've started sending her to infantcare again .. so she's getting used to the routine again .. so happy when she leaves the house, she would actually run back and give me a kiss.. hahaha .. she has that clingyness cos my mom sleeps on the same mattress as her if she sleeps over whereas at our place, she has her own bed and we just put her there and say our goodnights before closing the door .. that's when she would start crying or climbing out of bed and coming out into the living room .. it got worst when the hub was constantly away for work the last few weeks .. when he came back, he couldn't even put her down just to go to the toilet - she would start bawling her eyes out and completely refuse to come to me .. i think she was worried her dad was going to leave again .. she prefers her dad to put her to sleep but if she wakes in the middle of the night, she would call out Mama for me to come and see what's wrong .. now that she and the small one are sharing a room, she would walk to her sister's cot to see if Elin is in there, if she isn't then Sofi would walk to our room and crawl into bed with us .. aiyoh, and our bed is not meant to take in two adults, a baby and a toddler! the hub and me have nearly rolled out of bed more than once because we gave up our space to the little ones ..

tootsieroll: yah, cannot wait to get it over and done with huh ..

yes, sofi can be quite naughty .. she's learning to climb tables and chairs now but on her good days, i can depend on her to get diapers, milk bottles, etc .. the other day i caught her rocking her sister to sleep in the rocker and she just looked so mature for her 16 months .. poor her, having to grow up so quickly now that there is a new one at home ..

i bottle fed both cos nipples were too broad and they couldn't latch on .. i try to express when i can but when sofi is home, i just couldn't do it cos she'll be pulling the pump or trying to steal the bottle .. she was curious how come there's milk coming out..